Wednesday, May 4, 2016

When we moved into this house 9.5 years ago, I didn't love the kitchen. I didn't love the how brown and warm it was. I didn't love the backsplash and after a year or two I began to LOATHE the tile. (WHY DO PEOPLE EVER PUT TILE IN KITCHENS??? The clean up is so impossible.) But you don't buy a new house and redo anything, so I lived with it. I love how the kitchen is set up and how big it is. I made lots of yummy food in this kitchen.

Ryan finally got tired of the difficult, easily broken tile and we decided that after almost 10 years, we could justify a surface, kitchen renovation. We wanted clean, cool surfaces...leaning toward a modern look, while staying true to the house's craftsman design.

We decided to tear down the upper level of the bar. I've liked it...it hides mess, and makes a great serving surface, but we thought it would be more modern if it was one level, and really liked the idea of having some bar seating (especially since we have filled our table and have issues when we have guests over.) I love the blue barstools, which add color, and we have loved having some close-to-the-kitchen hanging out space.

We decided to have the cabinets painted...it's much cheaper than new cabinets, and honestly what we had was quality. It was way more expensive than we thought, but the company had come recommended. It was AMAZING how it lightened up the entire house. We chose brushed gold, modern pulls/hardware and they add a fun touch.

We decided to do two-toned paint and different countertops. We did white paint on the wall cabinets, with a gray, almost cement looking quartz countertop. The island is kind of opposite, with a gray paint on the cabinets and a white speckled quartz countertop. I can't even tell you the joy of not digging out red pepper seeds from tiled grout. Our kitchen probably stays cleaner because it's so easy to wipe down.

I wanted a very minimal, yet interesting, backsplash. I chose a white medium hexagon with a very light gray grout and it is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen.

Another of my favorite things is my new sink. It's HUGE. You can have an entire meal's worth of dishes in there and you can't even see them. It honestly makes my life feel less chaotic, because I can't see dishes in my sink! And the wiping right into the sink instead of over a weird border lip thing? Heaven. We picked a brass, modern faucet (to replace the CONSTANTLY breaking one that came with the house.)

We made a few changes to the dining room, replacing the not so cute chandelier with this beaut and doing some restyling to my green hutch.

As far as extra decor goes, we've decided to keep it simple. A few plants, blue barstools and a pretty light green faux roman shade seems to be enough to add color, but keep the calm, quiet feeling I was going for in my new kitchen. Thanks for checking it out. (Honestly, you realize how talented home decor photographers are when you try to do it yourself. Not quite the crisp, well lit, kid free photos I've seen on pinterest, but oh well!)

Quick Quote

Seth lost his shoes and had to wear Faith's too-small pair to a soccer game. He was pretty miserable. After the game, Ryan asked what he'd learned from it. Seth replied: "To have a happy attitude when things are hard?"